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Augmented Reality Projects

Chandra Augmented Reality (AR) Gallery.

Click the images below to launch them in AR for your smartphone or other AR-enabled device. More information on the objects and credit for the scientific 3D models can be found on our VR page. This AR project was created under the direction of Dr. Kimberly Arcand, NASA/CXC/SAO, with Tom Sgouros and Alexander Dupuis of Brown University.

The Cat’s Eye Nebula was created with data from Ryan Clairmont, a high school student from Canyon Crest Academy in San Diego, won the “First Award” in Physics & Astronomy for the International Science and Engineering Fair with his submission “Evolution of the Cat’s Eye Nebula revealed through morpho-kinematic and hydrodynamical modelling”.

Additional AR works highlighting data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.


Cassiopeia A(R)
One of the most famous objects in the sky, the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) supernova remnant, can be seen like never before. A three-dimensional augmented reality (AR) application of the 3D data allows you to view the debris from a massive stellar explosion, select the layers of the supernova remnant to engage with, and zoom in or rotate it.

Cassiopeia A(R) is a volumetric visualization of the Cassiopeia A supernova. This application is an experiment in spatial visualization and interaction. The participant uses voice and hands to explore the composition of the supernova, and help “build” the remnant. This new visualization takes advantage of AR technology to bring the model to your home or office.

Credits:
The AR application was adapted by Glowbox under the direction of Kimberly Arcand of CXC/SAO.

Format:
Download the free app for the Microsoft Hololens at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/cassiopeia-a-r/9nmf1vf1286t?activetab=pivot:overviewtab


Reach Across the Stars AR-Enhanced App: A Universe of Explorers
Virtually "meet" women who have blazed trails in space and related science fields in a new augmented reality-enhanced app released through a collaboration between the Smithsonian and NASA. The project is a free app that can be used on most AR-compatible tablets and smart phones. In some of the app’s journeys, current scientists take viewers into their work environment, recalling favorite career moments as well as challenges and obstacles. Some of the feature stories combine audio interviews, video, 3D environments and 360-degree virtual reality content. Users can explore, for example, NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with astronaut Cady Coleman, tour the Crab Nebula pulsar with astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and get a behind-the-scenes look at the Mars 2020 rover with Christina Hernandez, an instrument engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

(AR) app

Credits:
Kimberly Arcand, principle investigator; visualization scientist, Chandra X-ray Center (CXC) Sasha Samochina, creative technologist; deputy manager of the Ops Lab, NASA’s JPL Mandy Mandelstein, filmmaker and technologist Kristin DiVona, designer (CXC)

Format:
Free augmented reality (AR) app for use on most AR-compatible tablets and smartphones (iOS & Android platforms).


 

Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics
60 Garden Street,
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
Contact Us
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
617-496-7941
Creator/Manager: Kimberly Arcand
Art Direction/Design: Kristin DiVona
Web Developer: Khajag Mgrdichian


Developed by the Chandra X-ray Center, at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, in Cambridge, MA, with funding by NASA under contract NAS8-03060   |   Privacy | Accessibility
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